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Curious tales
A collection of 14 cautionary tales in which the hapless heroes and heroines defy the laws of the adult world with interesting results.
96 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1971
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23 people want to read
About the author
Miloš Macourek
54 books3 followersPoet, dramaturg, author of children literature and screenwriter
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 13, 2013
We had this book kicking around the shelves for quite a while. I know I had read several before to my son when he was young, to children of friends and family. I re-read it now because Macourek wrote or collaborated on screenplays for several Czech films. "Who Wants to Kill Jessie" is one film that is readily available in the US via netflix. Other films include "Sir, You Are A Widow", "Visitors From the Galaxy Arcana", and " Four Murders Are Enough, Darling". Most of these films you can watch on youtube, though subtitles might not be available for all.
As I watched these films, before realizing that Macourek had a hand in them, I was struck by the way the most fantastical circumstances are presented as ordinary, even mundane existence. In "Sir,...Widow", A cosmetologist routinely reconstructs whole human beings out of chopped veal, In "Galaxy Arcana", a psychologist, matter of factly describes a condition that explains why the struggling author can conjure up his Science Fiction Aliens.
The same is true in Macourek's stories. The reader knows macaroni aren't ambulatory, alarm clocks aren't sentient. Macourek makes them so and we suspend our understanding of reality for a moment and find ourselves sympathizing with the characters.
More than with other more complex fantasy and science fiction, I find these stories of Macourek push my imagination, push me to believe that, really, almost anything is possible.
The stories all have some trappings of reality, a mom and dad, uncooked pasta is unpalatable. These aspects of the stories anchor the tales, makes them "cautionary" fairy tales as the book description says, It also keeps them brief. There is so much detail introduced in the beginning of each tale that could make each a single booklength story. If I had a complaint, (which, since I mention it, I do.) It would be that several of the stories end too abruptly.
As I watched these films, before realizing that Macourek had a hand in them, I was struck by the way the most fantastical circumstances are presented as ordinary, even mundane existence. In "Sir,...Widow", A cosmetologist routinely reconstructs whole human beings out of chopped veal, In "Galaxy Arcana", a psychologist, matter of factly describes a condition that explains why the struggling author can conjure up his Science Fiction Aliens.
The same is true in Macourek's stories. The reader knows macaroni aren't ambulatory, alarm clocks aren't sentient. Macourek makes them so and we suspend our understanding of reality for a moment and find ourselves sympathizing with the characters.
More than with other more complex fantasy and science fiction, I find these stories of Macourek push my imagination, push me to believe that, really, almost anything is possible.
The stories all have some trappings of reality, a mom and dad, uncooked pasta is unpalatable. These aspects of the stories anchor the tales, makes them "cautionary" fairy tales as the book description says, It also keeps them brief. There is so much detail introduced in the beginning of each tale that could make each a single booklength story. If I had a complaint, (which, since I mention it, I do.) It would be that several of the stories end too abruptly.
October 26, 2007
This is, hands down, some of the best stories I have ever read. Never mind how old you are. Who can resist "The Macaronies That Went For a Walk" or "A Home for 10,000 Alarm Clocks?" The stories are great, the illustrations are great. Get it if you can. I think it's out of print, which makes me sad because I gave my first addition copy to a seven year old....
February 24, 2013
I guess I have to use this book as the English equivalent to the book I read, although I have a book by the same author in Estonian with 30-odd stories and poems in. But they seem to be the same stories I have already read.
I came to this author when I was 21 and in Uni, where one of my new friends lent it to me, saying - read these - really weird, mad, but genius stories! And I read and I laughed so much at the authors' imagination. By a totally lucky stroke (karma?) I found the book a week or so later in our second hand book shop. Few years ago I translated a few in my blog for Xmas presents to my friends. (If anyone is interested, then they are here - http://tuskel.livejournal.com/tag/fai... )
They are mostly what I'd call "modern fairytales", sometimes moral stories, sometimes slightly magical, but all definitely sort-of-supernatural and unbelievable. Animals and inanimate objects talk and behave like humans, a little girl gets a cabbage for a head and awell-behaved boy gets turned into a cupboard. And do you know why flying carpets fly? No? Read Macourek. Demand all his kids' stories to be translated into English and you will NOT be disappointed!
I came to this author when I was 21 and in Uni, where one of my new friends lent it to me, saying - read these - really weird, mad, but genius stories! And I read and I laughed so much at the authors' imagination. By a totally lucky stroke (karma?) I found the book a week or so later in our second hand book shop. Few years ago I translated a few in my blog for Xmas presents to my friends. (If anyone is interested, then they are here - http://tuskel.livejournal.com/tag/fai... )
They are mostly what I'd call "modern fairytales", sometimes moral stories, sometimes slightly magical, but all definitely sort-of-supernatural and unbelievable. Animals and inanimate objects talk and behave like humans, a little girl gets a cabbage for a head and awell-behaved boy gets turned into a cupboard. And do you know why flying carpets fly? No? Read Macourek. Demand all his kids' stories to be translated into English and you will NOT be disappointed!
November 17, 2019
Kakav manijak, taj Macourek. Inače Miloš Macourek je luđak poznatiji kao scenarist fantazmagoričnih filmova češkog vala kinematografije 80-ih, ali njegove bajke su nešto vrijedno gutanja. Nisam baš siguran koliko je to štivo za djecu. "Djevojčica sa rezervnom glavom", "Jakob i 200 djedova", "Makaroni koji su išli u šetnju"...da li je u Čehoslovačkoj LSD bio lako dostupan?
E, da, još nešto: on upravne govore ne odvaja ni crtom ni navodnicima, već zarezima. Vjerujem da ova knjiga ima najdulje rečenice koje sam ikad čitao. Iščeprkao sam jednu dugačku dvije i pol stranice.
E, da, još nešto: on upravne govore ne odvaja ni crtom ni navodnicima, već zarezima. Vjerujem da ova knjiga ima najdulje rečenice koje sam ikad čitao. Iščeprkao sam jednu dugačku dvije i pol stranice.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews